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Culture

Corporate culture, or organizational culture is defined as: A blend of the values, beliefs, taboos, symbols, rituals and myths all companies develop over time. This category aims to help find the most profitable way to work with these things.

It’s been a while since my last post…that’s kind of a good news / bad news thing. Good news is that I’m very busy and am working on some exciting projects. Bad news is that my time for writing and reflection has dwindled. I need to change that! I also hope to share my new projects with you soon!

A Story of Hope…

Gossip really is a cancer in life, business, and just about anywhere. I don’t know many people that would argue that point. However, I recently witnessed a positive version of gossip I’m calling “reverse gossip“. It was refreshing, energizing, and did more for moral than anything I’ve seen in years!

Having a business named “Corporate Culture Revolution” gets me into some pretty interesting conversations. Whether I’m being mocked, argued with, or praised, eyebrows are usually raised (along with occasional voices). It’s alright though, I wouldn’t have it any other way!

The point being, I often hear reasons why written examples of leadership & culture don’t mean squat in the real world. They just aren’t practical in the time constraints of doing business. So, many leaders will give up on even trying to learn. Instead, they will focus on more practical problems & solutions for their business. Of course I don’t agree with this approach, but I do understand the challenges and pitfalls of attempting to apply unlimited theories in a limited world, focused on practical results.

We’ve all been there before…your boss just doesn’t like to talk like that. “Vision? My vision is for you to get back to work!”. Not exactly inspiring, right? Well, there is a vision there, even if he or she doesn’t want to admit it. Here’s how to get it out of them…

Not every battle is worth the cost of winning. Sometimes the casualties of corporate skirmishes can be ugly! There are many situations where “letting this one go” means swallowing your pride while saving the team or the mission. With that being said, retreat doesn’t necessarily mean losing; it may mean survival!

For some time now I’ve been struggling with the question written in the headline above. I’ve personally worked in an organization that seemingly had endless profits and resources, while I’ve also worked in one that was struggling to break even. Obviously the one with endless resources had the advantage, but maybe it’s not as simple as you think.

A Vacation Story

Like many families here in the states, my wife, two children, and myself took a family trip last week. For us, it was an opportunity to visit my wife’s family in the heart of French speaking Quebec. This is always a unique experience filled with cultural epiphanies and typical travel frustrations.

However, instead of complaining about some of the lousy customer service experiences we had while interacting with dozens of businesses over seven days, I want to take a different route. Instead, I’d like to share with you a highlight of the trip, which we had as the very first and very last experience of our journey.

I recently witnessed a crazy phenomenon at a company that I’m working with. It was powerful, it was ugly, and it was made up of individuals who were seemingly out for blood. I’m calling it a co-worker coalition.

I don’t believe any of the resulting issues were intentional. However, when the same people spend a lot of time together complaining, frustrations can brew. This type of “gossip” is a cancer that WILL manifest. In this case, that is exactly what happened.

Mr. Bossman says: “Good afternoon Team! We are here today to implement this great new idea that I have.” Hooray!

In my experience, it’s pretty common to hear from people who feel like their boss or even a team member has stolen their idea without giving them credit for it. The bad part about this is that it can leave a tension between people that can stick around like a student loan. So, how do you deal with that?

Last week I sat down with a friend and small business owner over coffee. At one point, my friend made a comment, that I didn’t know how to respond to. He said, “how can you worry about culture with only four employees?”.

To be honest, I hadn’t really thought about it myself, which is why I didn’t know how to respond.

That’s when I decided to write this article first. Sometimes, it’s better for me to think through a new topic by writing about it before I can fully grasp my position. Otherwise, I risk answering without considering all the alternatives.

Anyway, there’s the question. Does it matter how many employees you have when it comes to organizational culture?